Chances Are
by MyCedarChest
Summary: Some things are best not left to chance.


**Most of the characters in this story belong to Paramount and whoever else has current legal ownership of Star Trek at the moment. No infringement on any corporate, business, or individual's rights is intended in any way. This story is not being written for profit, just for enjoyment.**

Chances Are

He was failing.

Spock's thoughts quickly began to darken even further into what he only assumed was despair, even though Vulcans were not capable of such an emotion. Damn his human half anyway.

As Harrison's hands continued to crush his skull at the same time twisting his neck in the hopes of snapping it in two, Spock's attempts to fight back were growing steadily weaker. The compounding of his injuries was beginning to take its toll on his body. He was 99.43 % sure that he had sustained 4 broken ribs on the right side of his body, and he was now 91.94% positive that he was bleeding internally within his abdominal cavity, most probably from his spleen. Both of his kidneys had been rendered inoperable from repeated kicks to his back. It seemed that Harrison was most accurate and thorough in the accuracy and delivery of his strikes. He suddenly had to mentally stop himself from calculating Harrison's accuracy percentage.

Unwillingly, his eyes began to betray his desperation and anguish to Harrison as the man continued to exert pressure onto the plates of his skull, twisting his neck even harder as he bore down.

**Spock. Was. Failing.** Failing Star Fleet. Failing the crew of the Enterprise. Failing Vulcan. Failing Jim Kirk. And most hurtful of all, he was failing Nyota Uhura.

Knowing for certain now that he had only minutes left to live, surprisingly there was only one thought that clearly entered his mind quickly pushing aside all other thoughts: Regret.

He regretted never bonding with Nyota. He had definitely wanted to, but he was still too insecure in their relationship to have ever proposed bonding to her. And now it seemed that his only consolation was that he would only have to live with his regret for just a few minutes more.

Suddenly through the haze of his pain, the scent of jasmine and sandalwood…the wondrous scent of his beloved Nyota began to surround him. He quickly took a deep breath even though his broken ribs groaned in protest wanting so much to believe that his mind was not playing tricks on him. And to his amazement the scent grew even stronger with his second breath.

Suddenly Harrison let go of his skull as the distinctive sound of a phaser on stun being fired began to penetrate the sound of his own blood roaring in his ears.

As Harrison struggled to his feet and out of his line of vision, Spock's eyes snapped to focus on Nyota's grim but determined face as she stared intently at Harrison firing her phaser repeatedly at him. He noted immediately that her shots were only slowing Harrison's threatening advance on her and not stopping him. And he knew without a doubt that a single strike from Harrison would kill her instantly. Spock would simply **not** let this happen.

All thoughts of his own body's injuries were immediately forgotten as he rose up from the roof of the ship, blind rage suddenly boiling up from inside of him. He turned quickly and looked around for something heavy with which to strike Harrison. With a roar of pain, he pulled a control panel off a low wall in the maintenance area of the ship. He then swiftly moved behind Harrison and jerked him by the arm in order to turn him towards him and away from Nyota. He swiftly swung the panel in a large arc in order to deliver a blow to Harrison's head knowing that this strike might be the only one he could deliver with maximum force now that his body was rapidly failing him. He picked out Harrison's temple as his target area and put every ounce of strength he had into hitting his target. The blow actually stunned Harrison and Spock was quick to move around him, grabbing one of his arms with the murderous intent of not only breaking Harrison's arm off but also of beating him with the bloody end of it as well. He was vaguely aware of Harrison howling with pain as Spock pulled him off balance and slammed him onto his back as hard as he could onto the hard roof of the ship, knocking the breath out of Harrison in the process.

In his ongoing rage, Spock became vaguely aware of Nyota calling his name as he moved to kneel down on Harrison's right hip using that position to begin to pummel him with his own bloodied fists. The pain in his own body was now only white noise in his head as he continued to beat the life from Harrison one blow at a time.

"Spock!" Nyota screamed repeatedly wanting to be heard above the noise of the wind and the sounds of their on going battle. "Stop!" she pleaded with him as he slowly began to register the meaning in her words beyond his rage-filled brain. "Stop!" She commanded even louder knowing that she now had part of his attention. "He's our only chance to save Kirk!"

Spock looked up into her worried face as her words finally penetrated into the non-primal part of brain left unaffected by his pain and the heat of the battle.

Pulling Harrison's limp body up towards him, Spock pulled his right hand back one more time in order to deliver another hard upper cut to Harrison's jaw and watched with satisfaction as Harrison collapsed immediately onto the roof and into unconsciousness.

Spock grunted in pain as he stood up and immediately staggered back a half step. He saw Nyota start to move towards him, great concern etched upon her beautiful face. "Nyota." He said loudly above the sound of the wind knowing what was best for both of them "He won't stay down long. Keep your phaser on him and hit him with heavy stun if he moves at all."

She nodded once to him as Spock turned and walked stiffly towards the hatch leading down into the pilot's compartment of the ship. He jerked the hatch open and yelled down at the pilot. "By order of Star Fleet" he began as the pilot looked up at him in surprise "I order you to land on the next roof top and stay there until we can all safely beam off your ship. This is a medical emergency."

The pilot nodded at him and gently turned the ship starboard and quickly lowered the ship to land on the roof of a nearby high-rise apartment building.

Nyota had already contacted the Enterprise and Harrison quickly disappeared in a swirl of charged particles as Spock slowly walked back towards her. With the effects of battle waning, the intensity of his pain began to grow. He quickly began to withdraw into his stoic persona not wanting to worry Nyota with just how badly he was injured. But when his eyes locked with hers, he knew instantly that she was already well aware of his physical condition.

"Oh god!" she said sweeping her eyes over his body as she reached out to gingerly touch him on the left arm with her right hand "I going to get you to sick bay right away, ashayam." She whispered to him. She then quickly spoke into her mic "Chekov, beam Spock and I directly to Sick Bay too." She ordered as he tried to hold one hand up to disagree, but he found he could not. "Commander Spock is badly injured and requires immediate aid."

She immediately reached out and gently took him by the elbows helping to stabilize him as the garbage scowl quickly vanished from view, being quickly replaced with the transporter pad in the main sick bay on board the Enterprise.

Nyota continue to hold on to him, gently supporting him in place as she raised her voice in the noisy room. "Some help here!" she said as Scotty as well as junior medical officer immediately ran over to them.

Spock suddenly heard McCoy's voice above the din "Get that hobgoblin ass of his in a bio-bed NOW, figure out where's he's broken, and then FIX him!"

Spock struggled to find his voice again "Your duty is to attend to the Captain." He said firmly.

"Surprise Spock." McCoy replied stepping into his line of sight as Scotty, Uhura, and Dr. Matheson helped him lay down in the only empty bio-bed in Sick Bay. "My duties include multi-tasking, too. And I can tell by your color or actually **lack** of it that you're starting to bleed out." He then turned to his junior doctor. "Get two units of that green stuff Vulcans call blood into this Vulcan stat. Then find out where he's bleeding from and STOP it." With that said McCoy turned and walked swiftly away.

The junior doctor quickly walked towards of the storage lockers returning less than 30 seconds later with two units of Vulcan blood. Two nurses had already moved in around Spock and were busy prepping him for surgery. Spock felt his eyes grow heavy as the sedatives began flowing into his bloodstream. He had to force his right hand out to reach Uhura's left hand and firmly wrapped her fingers within his.

One of the nurses Betty, who was a good friend of Uhura's smiled reassuringly at Uhura and told her "He's going to be OK, you'll see. But we are going to need some room to work on him now."

Scotty tried to pull Uhura from Spock's grip but he held on, his eyes frantically seeking out and finding her eyes. Nothing was to stop him from saying what he wanted to say to her, hoping sincerely that these weren't going to be his last words to her. "My heart and soul will always be with you, my cherished one. I love you so very much, Nyota." He whispered to her in Vulcan as the darkness closed in on him. The last thing he remembered was her hand squeezing his hand back tenderly.

Spock slowly became aware of a comforting warmth all along the left side of his body and the low hum of electronics. Suddenly his left cheek was covered by a soft set of lips, the owner of those lips he immediately recognized.

He slowly opened his eyes to stare into the dark eyes of Nyota. She smiled brightly at him and then leaned over to kiss him on the corner of his mouth. Then she began to trail warm, wet kisses all across his mouth, down to his chin, and then along his left jaw line.

He closed his eyes again and sighed deeply, basking in the glow of her love for him. He reached out with his arms and encircled her waist under the light blanket which covered them both up in the bio-bed. She had a way of making him feel like there was only the two of them in the entire universe and his mind quickly blanked out everything else but the feel and the smell of her.

Suddenly his memory was back on line. "How is the Captain?" he asked in hushed tones of her as she kissed him tenderly on the left ear.

"Doctor McCoy had him moved to the hospital at headquarters. I spoke with him this morning and he says that Kirk is doing well and that he is planning on reversing his medically induced coma in two days." Nyota whispered back to him in Vulcan, punctuating every other word with another kiss to the shell of his left ear. "All tests indicate that Kirk should make a full recovery."

Spock pulled her into a tight hug and whispered back to her in Vulcan. "That is good news, my cherished one." He quietly replied "How long have I been here?" he then asked in Standard.

"Six days, fourteen hours, 32 minutes." She responded, playfully nuzzling his neck with her forehead.

"Am I to assume that you have been here with me instead of being at your duty station, Lieutenant Uhura?" Spock asked her in a mock serious tone as she quickly tilted her head up to look at him, her dark eyes flashing with defiance then softening with the knowledge that he was now attempting to tease her.

"The Enterprise is currently docked at space station Solaris while undergoing major structural repairs and all duty personnel were granted 60 days of shore leave on Earth while repairs were being made." She responded coyly "So technically I have been enjoying **my** shore leave in bed with my handsome, heroic, and very hunky boyfriend for the past six days, fourteen hours **and** 33 minutes."

"I do not understand this term 'hunky', Nyota." He questioned lifting one eyebrow. "Please explain."

Her left hand began to slowly roam down his chest, then gently scraping her fingernails over his abs before coming to a rest seductively on his left hip. "Well" she began as she kissed him on the corner of his mouth again. "'hunky' means tall…." She then kissed him full on the lips slowly "incredibly strong…." she kissed him once again on the lips but slower using her tongue to swipe at his bottom lip. "And very, very sexy." She finished as he opened his mouth to her and she quickly leaned up over him and began kissing him deeply, both of her hands moving to the back of his neck.

Spock couldn't stop a low growl from escaping from deep within his soul. He suddenly remembered his feeling of regret from his fight with Harrison and he promised himself all over again that he would indeed ask Nyota if she would agree to be his bond mate and soon. And with the shore leave time left to them, he began to plan out just how and where he would give her his mother's bonding ring and ask her to bond with him. He gently pulled her body on top of his as they continued to kiss. He ran the fingers of his right hand through the raven tresses of her ponytail as his left hand caressed her lightly up and down her back.

His body now on autopilot as they continued to kiss, Spock's mind suddenly remembered back to the trip to New Vulcan when his father gave his mother's bonding ring to him. His father had told him that she wanted Spock to have it so that he could give the ring to his bond mate when the time came. During the year before Nero's attack on Vulcan his mother had visited Earth often as part of her job duties and she had always carved out time during her trips for both Spock and Nyota. Like any mother, Amanda had always wanted the best for Spock and she told Spock many times in private during her visits that she strongly believed that Nyota was what was best for him. Even though she had rarely disregarded Vulcan traditions, Amanda had encouraged Spock to create an emotional commitment to Nyota and bond with her, knowing that his heart belonged to Nyota and not T'Pring.

In the aftermath of his mother's death, his father had told him that the reason that he had married his mother was because Sarek had loved his mother. Such an emotional declaration from his father had encouraged Spock to live with his emotions instead of burying them deep inside of himself. Spock had vowed to do just that.

During his short time aboard the Enterprise, his father spent almost as much time with Nyota as he did with Spock. When he asked his father why that was, Sarek responded quickly that he found Nyota to be 'a most fascinating young woman' and that he regretting not traveling to Earth with his wife during the past year so that he would have had an opportunity to meet and come to know Nyota while in Amanda's company. Sarek told him of the joy that Amanda had expressed to him upon her return from her first meeting with Nyota. Sarek had always trusted Amanda's instincts when it came to relationships and he expressed satisfaction to his wife upon hearing that Spock had such a good woman in his life now.

While on board the Enterprise, his father surprised both Spock and Nyota by first privately and then publically approving of their relationship. Just before leaving on the transport for New Vulcan, his father had pulled him off to the side and quietly told Spock that grandchildren would be most welcome on New Vulcan. His father's unexpected words caused Spock to raise both eyebrows at his father who in turn came as close to smiling as Spock had ever before witnessed. He had yet to tell Nyota about that particular conversation with his father.

As their kiss continued to intensify, the sound of a throat being cleared quite loudly behind them suddenly broke them apart.

"Sorry to interrupt." Dr. Matheson cheerfully said as he was now quite obviously only pretending to apologize "But now that Commander Spock is **obviously **awake, I need to run a few tests on him so I can hopefully release him over into your very competent care, Lieutenant Uhura." The Doctor continued to tease the two of them. "And then I can get on to **my** shore leave. After all, it is spring time in San Francisco right now….**and **the season for love, I might add. And seeing how you two obviously seem to be in the mood for love right now." He pulled a white envelope out of his lab coat pocket and held it out for them to see. "**This** is for you." He offered as Nyota slowly rose out of the bio-bed and stood next to Dr. Matheson taking the envelop gently out of his hand.

Nyota slowly pulled open the envelope and began reading the card inside. "A weeks stay at the Parsonage Bed and Breakfast in downtown San Francisco." She said quickly glancing over at Spock "For two." She confirmed with a small smile.

"Soooo" Dr. Matheson began to explain "a bunch of us got together and we all chipped in on this for the two of you." He said smiling at Uhura and then at Spock "We figured you **both** needed a little pampering after all you've been through in the past week."

Uhura walked over and gave Dr. Matheson a hug. "Thanks, Charlie." She told him a huge smile breaking out on her face. "A little pampering sounds like a really great idea right about now."

Spock immediately locked eyes with her. He had to quickly tamp down a small pang of jealousy over Dr. Matheson's hug. Logically he knew that Dr. Matheson and Nyota were friends from the academy, so he endeavored to restrain himself from any further reaction. But Nyota of course had noticed the emotion in his eyes and she slowly leaned over him and kissed him soundly on the lips trying to soothe him.

"So then while the good doctor here is running his tests on you, I'm going to go bring you a change of clothes." She brushed the fingertips of her right hand over his left cheek and then grinned mischievously at Spock "I don't want anyone **else **seeing you in your sick bay skivvies, mister!" She then winked at Dr. Matheson who began to laugh. "I'll be back shortly."

After Nyota left the room, Dr. Matheson began running his tests as he scanned Spock's body, stopping every few minutes to make notes on his padd. After about 20 minutes he had completed all of his tests. He looked at Spock and smiled broadly. "Looks like you've made a complete recovery, sir. I will officially note your condition in our medical log."

He started to walk away, but then turned back around to face Spock as Spock slowly sat up and then stood up from the bio-bed as he stretched his back out. "Not being nosey here, Commander." He began, taking a half step back towards Spock. Spock nodded his head in acknowledgement for him to continue and he immediately stopped stretching. "But if I were you, then I would make sure that I would sweep that wonderful woman off her feet while you two are in Frisco."

Spock arched an eyebrow at him wanting to clearly understand the Doctor's meaning behind his words. "If by the term 'sweep that wonderful woman off her feet' you mean that I should create an atmosphere around Lt. Uhura whereby our relationship becomes officially permanent, then I **agree** Doctor."

The Doctor smiled broadly at him genuinely happy about hearing of Spock's plan. "The Parsonage is a very romantic place, owned and run by two of the biggest romantics in town: my cousins, Lorrie and Lacy." He informed him the smile never leaving his face. "And just in case you get stuck for what to do next in the romance department, just ask Lorrie and Lacy. They will be a big help. **And** they are very discrete."

"Duly noted, Doctor." Spock replied bowing his head slightly. "And thank you." He added sincerely "For everything."

"You are most welcome, sir." The Doctor replied walking out of the room loudly whistling a tune that Spock knew from his studies of Earth's music history to be called 'Chances Are'.

Spock sat back down on the bed waiting for Nyota to return with a change of clothes for him. Nyota had been correct: he was not about to walk out of sick bay in what he was currently wearing. Patient attire was definitely designed to allow maximum access to the patient's body by medical personnel and left very little to any ones' imagination. As he continued to wait on her, he was going to make the best use of his time by continuing to plan out just how he would begin to court one Nyota Uhura while they were on shore leave.

He had already read countless articles on human courtship rituals, but the readings left him more confused than informed. He had also discretely spoken with several married shipmates asking about the courtship of their own spouses. And again their answers and advice were all over the chart leaving him with no concrete plan for courtship.

Finally he thought back to a conversation between his mother and himself months ago. His mother had brought up the subject of courtship telling him that a time would come when everything would just fall in place for Nyota and him. And when that happened, the timing would then be right for bonding. She assured him that such an event had transpired between herself and his father which had led to their bonding. She told him just to be patient until then and trust his heart to steer his course when the right moment arrived.

He wasn't really sure what a bed and breakfast establishment was, but he did ponder the 'timing' of a week within such establishment. He vowed to be patient and wait for the situation to develop and see how events transpired between himself and Nyota in such an environment.

Just in case, he was planning on packing his mother's bonding ring before they left the Enterprise. The problem would be not letting Nyota see him retrieve the ring from its hidden compartment. He would never lie to Nyota, but Spock Prime had taught him that sometimes misleading someone you care about was quite acceptable if the reason was for the greater good.

Within minutes after Dr. Matheson left him, Nyota walked back into Spock's semi-private room and smiled broadly at him. "Here you go." she said in Standard as she handed him his clothes and then turned away from him allowing him some privacy for changing his clothes. "Do you feel well enough to go to San Francisco, or do you require more time to heal?" She asked quietly in Vulcan, her back still turned towards him.

Spock had already pulled the apron like patient smock off and was quickly pulling on underwear followed by his uniform pants. "I am well enough to go, my beloved." He replied in Vulcan closing his eyes as he pulled his black undershirt slowly over his head pleased to find that his ribs had fully mended while he was in his healing trance. He opened his eyes to find Nyota staring intently at him, her brown eyes almost black with emotion.

"I am glad." She replied in Vulcan back to him as she walked up to him taking his uniform shirt from him holding it up so that she could help him put the shirt on. Spock closed his eyes again as felt her warm hands gently tug the shirt over his head and then felt her fists gently slide along his ribs coming to rest on his hips as she let go of the fabric of the shirt. He opened his eyes and watched as she immediately stood up on her toes her head swiveling to the side as was her habit when she wanted him to kiss her.

He immediately leaned down and kissed her as his hands made their way around her small frame pulling her gently into him.

Slowly she lowered herself down away from him and he followed leaning down even further not wanting to let her out of his grasp just yet. "I love you, Nyota." He whispered to her as they both opened their eyes looking deeply at each other. "And I am so proud of you, my cherished one." He said in Vulcan as she blinked her eyes in confusion at him. "You saved both me and the Captain." He explained as her eyes grew wide at his words "And you saved the Earth from Harrison." She began to tear up and he reached out with both hands to wipe the tears away from her eyes. "You are truly a brave heart, my beloved." He finished in Swahili as she began to smile through her tears.

"I love you, S'chn T'gai." She said in Vulcan. "And I am most happy that you are proud of me. And I too am proud of you, my beloved." She whispered back to him in Swahili, her eyes now bright with what he knew was her love for him. She then placed her right hand above his heart. "You will always be **my** brave heart."

He looked at her intently as he wiped away the rest of her tears. She was so beautiful. Not just physically, but spiritually as well. His mother had been right: Nyota Uhura was his soul mate. He was now more determined than ever to ask her to become his bonded mate. And he now had a strategy and a plan. "It would seem that the Parsonage awaits us, Lieutenant." He whispered leaning down to tenderly kiss her on the forehead.

She giggled up at him, a sound which always made him happy, and his eyes smiled back at her. "Why yes, Commander. I do believe it is." She replied reaching up with her right hand to gently pull his chin down to her for a quick kiss on the lips. "And it would be quite the shame to keep Dr. Matheson's cousins waiting any longer."


End file.
